Arkansas, Morris Agree To 6-Year Contract

A person with direct knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press that Arkansas has hired SMU's Chad Morris to become the school's new football coach.

The 49-year-old Morris agrees to a six-year contract and replaces Bret Bielema, who was fired after a regular-season ending loss to Missouri last month. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision hasn't been made public yet.

Morris leaves the Mustangs after compiling a 14-22 record in three seasons. He took over an SMU team that finished 1-11 in 2014, won two games his first season and improved to 5-7 in 2016 and 7-5 this year.

The Texas native was a longtime high school coach in the state before beginning his collegiate career as the offensive coordinator at Tulsa in 2010. He then spent four years as the offensive coordinator at Clemson, helping lay the foundation for the Tigers' national championship last season.